Note to the thirsty fools who left Memorial Stadium at halftime Saturday night to find entertainment elsewhere: This is not another deadly dull Kansas University football team. It has too many playmakers this season to bore audiences.

Even on nights when the Jayhawks trip all over themselves, as they did Saturday in a 45-13 victory against Toledo, they have too many players with a blinding second gear to make heading for the bars a more entertaining option than watching the final two quarters.

When Marcus Henry saw the end zone in the distance, he reached a speed the defenders near him simply didn’t have. No way Aqib Talib could break the plane of the goal line on the ground for the fourth time on his fifth career reception, not with the sideline and a defender hemming him in. So he took to the air and covered the final five yards from there.

Jake Sharp’s shiftiness gives him the edge going up the middle. When he turns the corner, he turns on the jets, and it’s quite a sight. So is his postgame outfit. He’s pure cowboy with shiny, pointed boots and a rodeo shirt.

What quarterback Todd Reesing – he sometimes wears a suit and tie after the game – might lack in foot speed he more than compensates for with clever feet. He’s such a patient scrambler. He waits until the last second to move out of the way of the potential tackler, forever keeping his eyes on the move for a target, usually one far down the field.

Isn’t it refreshing to see a quarterback who hasn’t been brainwashed into thinking that all passes must be as safe as runs, must be more horizontal than vertical? Not that Reesing hasn’t been safe. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and has not thrown an interception.

Defensive playmakers are emerging as well, although not one who consistently harasses the quarterback.

Safety Darrell Stuckey, brainy as is Reesing, flies around making hard hits and on this night picked off a pass.

It will take the Big 12 schedule to get a better read on just how good Kansas is – an 8-4 record still seems the best guess – but it’s not too early to declare already that this is the flashiest KU team in recent years.

“A lot of people on this team have a hunger,” Stuckey said. “It’s almost like we haven’t eaten and we’re at dinner waiting for our plate to come. We run around the field like we all want to make plays, but we don’t care who gets the glory at the end of the play.”

The volume and size of a crowd estimated at 48,112 – at least until the short attention spans in attendance headed for instant gratification elsewhere instead of hanging out during halftime – added to this Kansas football team distancing itself from the days of yawns galore.

A little tweaking to the product could liven things up to another level. More marquee opponents at Memorial Stadium – Nebraska is the only one this season – and one uniform alteration could spice up the football mania.

The Trajan lettering on the jerseys, a subtle change, was a good one. It’s the helmet that needs work. Bring back the Jayhawks on the helmets. Now that Kansas has speedier players, let them fly down the sidelines with birds on their heads.

Griping about the helmet design sure beats falling asleep watching a horizontal, plodding product. Consider it progress.